Many speak confidently about heaven and being saved, yet rarely we see a satisfactory answer to why so many won't make it to heaven.
We know Jesus said as it was in the days of the son of man so shall it be at the end. And that few simply believed Jesus to be the Messiah, an inference can be made that most won’t make it to heaven simply because they didn’t believe or say they accept Jesus as their savior.
It seems this inference is taken mistakenly, because the colloquial understanding of ‘believe’ is not what it meant at the time of the bible’s writing, and more recently modern society has become ingrained with deception and have become adapt to easily lie to oneself (many times without knowing it).
Believe back then meant to live as you believed. If one believed in Jesus, that means they lived their life as Jesus did, in accepting all the responsibility of being a true follower of Jesus. Meaning: …and he said to them, if any man will come after me, let him deny self take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Revelation 21:27 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Heaven is a place that few will make into because few will reach the mark of perfection. All we have to do to be allowed into heaven, is obtain perfection of character. Jesus did say, be ye perfect even as your father in heaven is perfect.
A famous bible commentator once wrote, that if we did not reach perfection of character, and were allowed into heaven, it would be a torturous existence. Which if you think about it, it makes sense, if God is an infinitely just entity (for this instance, lets say God is), he wouldn’t want us to suffer living in heaven.
The theme of many parables/fables/allegories/stories in human history teach the idea that there is right and wrong and we have the choice to choose to do either, in that we have a free will.
The premise of the Bible is about the choice of right and wrong, and the outcome of exercising that right of free will.
From what it seems God will never take away our responsibility of our free will (in this world).
The conundrum is, somehow many modern christians think God or Jesus will do that work for us, remove sin (selfishness) from our character, but that bring us back to our responsibility of our own free will. For we know heaven is a place where sin will not exist.
Yes, Jesus will help us in every way possible, but we must constantly, consciously, actively do actions to work towards perfection of character.
Yes we need devine help to reach perfection, though, also it is in our own thoughts and actions that confirm our choice to allow the devine assistance, in attainment of perfection, to change our character and way of thinking, to be fitted for such a place of unselfish, community based existence.
The primary/majority idea/teaching of most Christian churches, is we are saved under grace, and therefore don’t need to have good works let, let alone be perfect to make it into heaven.
If this is the belief of the majority, we can deduce that this idea is some of the deception Jesus warned us of, as we near the end.
